This Is Sotheby's? The Stories Kristina O'Neill Can Tell As Head of Sotheby's Media
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'Amor e Cia' for Vogue Portugal December 2023 Explores Skin Color Beauty
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Photographer Catharina Pavitschitz [IG] adds poetic beauty to the pages of Vogue Portugal’s [IG] December 2023 ‘Love and Hope’ issue with ‘Amor e Cia’ [Love and Company].
Vogue Portugal has an exemplary history in dealing with deeply-challenging issues of skin color, as it impacts racial identity and global culture images.
As European powers began to expand their empires through colonization, the concept of race as a hierarchical system based on physical attributes — particularly skin color — gained traction. This intellectual position was driven by the need to justify the subjugation and exploitation of indigenous populations and the mass enslavement of Africans across the continent.
The Vatican occupies a position of great prominence at the historical heart of the global slave trade, dating back to the 15th century when Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas in 1452, granting the Portuguese the right to enslave non-Christian peoples.
Read MoreBella Hadid by Bryce Anderson Takes 4 Covers in The Perfect Magazine #6 SS-2024
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Supermodel Bella Hadid returns to the limelight with these four covers for The Perfect Magazine [IG] Issue Six Spring/Summer 2024.
The shoot is inspired by an image of Debbie Harry performing in 1978, wearing as a dress a poster she had torn from the wall outside the venue.
Bella is wearing a Corbin Shaw tee ‘Screaming in Perfect English’ [above] on the fourth cover — and Corbin is a major source of inspo for the covers.
Anne began her day reflecting on the raw power of Charlamagne Tha God’s views on sitting out the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called on all Muslim voters to not support US President Biden — to teach us all about ‘raw power’.
In this midst of the American political crisis, is the phrase ‘Raw Fashion Power’ to describe Bella. Is this a stupid comment, or is Bella taking a political side?
Read MoreActor Benedetta Porcaroli Covers Vogue Italia January 2024 Lensed by Elizaveta Porodina
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Actor Benedetta Porcaroli [IG] covers the January 2024 issue of Vogue Italia, styled by Vittoria Cerciello with images by Elizaveta Porodina [IG].
Benedetta Porcaroli will join Sydney Sweeney and an expanded cast in the upcoming 2024 film ‘Immaculate’.
The minute AOC saw Benedetta Porcaroli playing in a film ‘Immaculate’, we knew we were headed straight for the Vatican.
The principal photography took place in Rome and finished in February 2023. It’s the first film produced by the ‘Euphoria Star’ under her ‘Fifty-Fifty Films’ company, which Sweeney founded in 2020.
Read MoreAngelina Jolie Tells WSJ She Is More At Home With Refugees Than in Hollywood
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Actor, humanitarian, mother and global leader is profiled in the December 2023 issue of WSJ Magazine, with deeply personal photographs of Jolie wearing offerings from Atelier Jolie, shot by Annemarieke Van Drimmelen [IG] with styling by Tonne Goodman.
One of the most profound realities that she discussed with WSJ is her favorite people to spend time with.
“There’s a reason people who have been through hardship are also much more honest and much more connected, and I am more relaxed with them. Why do I like spending time with people who’ve survived and are refugees? They’ve confronted so much in life that it brings forward not just strength, but humanity.”
Anne of Carversville has trekked behind Jolie on all of her endeavors since 2007. She is the founding muse of this website — a reality that disturbs many men.
Many of them cannot stand Jolie, and I truly do not know why. Perhaps I should ask my AI assistant Lulu to investigate this question.
Read MoreZara Ad Reminds Me: Christians, Jews, Muslims All Believe in Weeping Angels
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Jackets Without a Good Fit
Zara has removed this controversial advertising campaign from the front page of its website after pro-Palestine activists called for an international boycott of the retailer.
Inditex, the company that owns Zara, said on Monday that the photos were taken in September 2023, before the current war erupted between Hamas and Israel. The creative brief was approved in July — which makes sense to AOC.
However alert to perceptions gone wrong, I myself was in the process of writing about my night at the Louvre in Paris 20 years ago, marveling over the jazz-evening setup with the statuary in seeming disarray, strewn like these images but with blue strobe lights for extra effect.
Only when I went to Zara’s IG did I realize that something was very wrong with the campaign.
Read MoreIndya Moore Honored As Harper's Bazaar Spain 2023 Activist of the Year by JUANKR
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Actor and intersectionality activist Indya Moore covers the December 2023 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Spain [IG], named as their Activist Woman of the Year 2023.
JuanKr [IG] photographed the actor, who is styled by Christina Terron. / Hair and makeup by Cynthia de Leon
Indya Moore Proud Pro-Palestinian Activist
Living up to the Harper’s Spain award category honor, Indya Moore was among the 335 people arrested in New York’s Grand Central Station on October 27.
Read MoreOyadeas! The Burberry Holiday 2023 Campaign Is A Splendiferous Emotional Getaway
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Oyadeas! I simply adore Creative Director Daniel Lee’s Burberry Holiday [IG] 2023 campaign. ADORE IT!! It’s charming, genuine, not camp but quiet luxury gone a tiny bit wild.
Roe Ethridge [IG] shoots this precious masterpiece, with creative direction by Carina Frey and Stefanie Barth.
The logo fully communicates Burberry without ruining the larger-image, buy-me item. He’s leaving before you can be annoyed with him — sort of like an apparition. He’s like “Chill, Anne, I’m leaving.”
Actually the Burberry knight reminds me of the Tribute of Light show outside my high-floor, lower Manhattan window after Sept. 11 in New York. Tribute always came to visit us and even stayed the night. But then he was gone when I woke up, off to bring a bit of hope and serenity elsewhere in our complicated world.
For a couple years we tried to trap him for at least a cup of morning French Roast, but Tribute always outsmarted us, slipping out the window at dawn.
Read MoreAnja Rubik Sheds Tears of Joy Over Poland's Political Reset as the EU Exhales
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What makes a true supermodel? Anja Rubik voting in Poland’s national elections last weekend, October 15, 2023.
AOC doesn’t keep precise track of individual model’s activism but Anja Rubik, one of the world’s most successful models, has led the way for many years. In her own words:
“How political parties address sexual education issues will have a huge impact on what country we will live in.”
To that end, Anja Rubik is deeply connected as its founder to FUNDACJA SexedPL [IG] FEDERA, a NGO committed to sex education on matters of abortion rights and LGBTQ issues — but also endometriosis, for example.
AOC goes deep on the supermodel’s activism, as we celebrate the 75% turnout that resulted in a reset of Poland’s politics last weekend and a prospective stabilizing of of Poland’s relationship with the European Union.
Read MorePolo Ralph Lauren Fall 2023 Campaign by Richard Phibbs | AOC on Color Barriers in Education
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As an American — and long before I launched Anne of Carversville in 2007 — Ralph Lauren represented the American dream to me. Lauren has successfully woven America’s stories into the very fabric of his brand, creating a unique narrative like no other American designer.
Today, an older, wiser, and a more empathetic Ralph Lauren stands at the crossroads of American democracy. In the same moment, I am pouring over the details of American history on a daily basis and grabbing every creative opportunity to talk about them.
When you put Polo Ralph Lauren together with Richard Phibbs [IG] as photographer, Anne’s day is derailed as I decide what to write. Poor Phibbs. He always inspires deep thinking at AOC.
AOC totally supports taking some liberties with campaign visuals, but I also sense an obligation for AOC to share facts of history along the way. Ralph Lauren has mastered this art of visual inclusivity and Richard Phibbs has some of the keenest instincts I know about when taking this path of “how history could have been if only there were more of us and fewer of them.”
Read MoreCatching Up with Lupita Nyong'o No 1 : Chanel, Selema Masekela, Meeting Alek Wek
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As part of Anne of Carversville’s ongoing years-long renewal of our deep, pre 2020 archives, this ‘Catching Up With . . . ‘ series will take people we love and issues we care about into the ‘now’ world.
August 28: A Key Day in Lupita’s Life
Take note of the two lovebirds sitting in the salon of Coco Chanel’s apartment, in a series of images from the actor’s IG. Dear Lupita is in a deep-love relationship with Selema Masekela, born on my birthday August 28.
If the name sounds familiar, Selema is the American-born son of Hugh Masekela, often described as "the father of South African jazz".
It’s also the day of Lupita’s ‘Black Panther’ co-star Chadwick Boseman’s passing: August 28, 2020.
The story of how Lupita and Selema first met is priceless. That alone is worth the read.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton Taps Pharrell Williams As First Guest of Podcast 'Louis Vuitton Extended' Out Now
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Louis Vuitton is launching a podcast with popular French fashion journalist, documentary maker and YouTuber Loïc Prigent. Called ‘Louis Vuitton Extended’, the podcast will dive deeper into the scenes of what’s happening behind the scenes at one of the world’s premier luxury houses. That Prigent-guided conversation includes the house’s cultural codes, values and activism.
In the case of Louis Vuitton Men’s creative director Pharrell Williams, the dialogue will focus on the June 20, 2023 show and all the decisions made around its structure and content.
Read MoreHelen Mirren Talks Golda Meir in DuJour Magazine Fall 2023 by Nick Thompson
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Esteemed actor Helen Mirren is not accustomed to being the center of controversy. But she knew that criticism of her decision to play the plum role of world leader Golda Meir, the founding first and only woman leader of Israel’s history, was certain to invite controversy. Mirren is not Jewish and she has called the criticism of her being tapped by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv to play the lead in ‘Golda’ as “utterly legitimate”.
‘Golda’s focus is the 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973.
The film is in theaters and online now, released on August 25 and with a modest box office of $4.4 worldwide.
Read MoreRalph Lauren Details Global Citizenship and Sustainability Initiatives
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For Ralph Lauren’s exciting achievements in committing to the Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold Cashmere Sweater, coupled with other significant achievements in sustainable materials and products, Ralph Lauren earned a prime spot on Fast Company’s 2023 Top 10 list of the most 540 most innovative companies in North America, across all sectors.
Ralph Lauren redesigned its signature cashmere sweaters to receive certification from Cradle to Cradle, a nonprofit that helped the company meet C2C’s standards for using safe materials, employing fair labor practices, and enabling the garment to be recycled into a new one.
The full 2023 Ralph Lauren Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report and ESG Supplement are available for download on the Company’s website. AOC is reading the report and feels compelled to cite more calls-to-action for the Ralph Lauren Corporation beyond the press release.
The support by Ralph Lauren brands of HBCUs and especially Morehouse and Spelman Colleges continues at an accelerated level. Equally impressive is an accelerated commitment to indigenous communities in America. Of all the severely-impacted humans who have been part of the glorious American experiment, indigenous peoples have experienced the dark side of American excellence and high standards.
Read MoreAnitta'a Global Takeover for Harper's Bazaar US June-July 2023 Includes Social Justice
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Today, we meet up with Anitta in the June-July 2023 issue of Harper’s Bazaar US, where she wears Dior on the cover in a fashion story lensed by Emmanuel Sanchez-Monsalve [IG].
Anitta’s Very Fine Mind
Anitta sings in Portuguese, Spanish and English, and she is also conversant in French and Italian. In her increasingly storied adult life, Anitta’s skills in being a polygot [one who speaks five or more languages] make her an important candidate for brain science. Neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts and also the University of Geneva in Switzerland might like her to find time for functional MRIs (fMRIs), brain scans, to measure Anitta’s brain activity.
Read MoreAngelina Jolie Pens Major Essay on Domestic Violence and Racial Inequity in Treatments
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4% of Women and 6% of Men in America Murdered by an Intimate Partner
In America, of the 4,970 female victims of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in 2021, law enforcement agencies reported that 34% were killed by an intimate partner. By comparison, about 6% of the 17,970 males murdered that year were victims of intimate partner homicide. About 16% of female murder victims were killed by a nonintimate family member—parent, grandparent, sibling, in-law, and other family member—compared to 10% of male murder victims.
We are familiar with the absurd but widespread belief that women of color can handle greater pain. But this device deals with the very real problem of not even seeing or detecting bruising, when a doctor has the best of intentions to offer quality healthcare in communities of color.
Angelina received a demonstration of how a handheld device can highlight bruising on darker skin tones that had been previously invisible to the naked eye.
The simple, portable device directed “alternate light”—in this case violet light with a yellow lens—toward the skin. The technique is up to five times more effective at detecting bruising than white light, as much as four weeks after injury.
Read MoreLVMH Launches Bold Focus on Preserving and Teaching Craftsmanship Across France
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The Rencontres Economiques des Metiers d'Art Forum, organized by leading partner LVMH, is an exciting new platform celebrating the convergence of art, artisanship and commerce in the luxury sector.
The platform launched in the picturesque town of Tonnerre, Burgundy on June 30, 2023, designed to bring together renowned artisans, industry experts, art enthusiasts business leaders to explore the rich but intricate relationship between craftsmanship and economics.
With a focus on preserving traditional techniques while embracing innovation, the goal of the forum was and will be a catalyst for dialogue and collaboration among talented individuals from various artistic disciplines. It’s indisputable that the artisans themselves are at the center of this metaphorical wheel of French excellence.
Read MoreJuliana Nalú, a Self-Described Brazilian Masterpiece , for Pucci Eyewear July 2023
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Brazilian influencer and model Juliana Nalú, takes the limelight in the new Pucci Eyewear social media campaign, lensed by Ryan Schostak. [IG].
The entrepreneurial and charismatic Nalú [did we say sexy and gorgeous, too?] is rising from the Chapadão favela in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. She describes herself on IG as a “Brazilian masterpiece” and is represented by Elite Models in NYC and LA.
All systems are “go” for Juliana Nalú.
Still, AOC feels a need to say that this dynamic young woman is rising from one of the most dangerous favelas in Brazil. It wasn’t always this way for Chapadão, which is another socio-political story.
Read MoreLouis Vuitton Mens Hip Elegance: A Smart Critic Asks "Can Good Taste Change the World?"
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Power shifts are happening and not everybody has gotten the message. Clearly, significant numbers of people are not pleased with these new dynamics that are now obvious after the Pharrell Williams Louis Vuitton Men’s show on April 20.
That’s a shame, because the minute models hit the most spectacular runway in Paris — on the Pont Neuf overlooking the Seine — my immediate response was about the elegant tailoring and then the accessories.
The ‘Liberty’ luggage truck also told me that EVERY detail was in order around this epic Pharrell Williams blast-off.
It was only on Monday Juneteenth, that I learned about the Statue of Liberty as a gift to America from France, honoring the official end of slavery in America.
This new day Paris Cafe Society is just getting started, but it is real.
Read MoreZara Dazzles In Summer's Sequined Mermaid Fashion Lensed by Carlijn Jacobs
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